Any opinion I give here will sound racist, but immigration is by its very nature a somewhat racist or at least ethnic issue. People of one culture seek to spread into another one and make a life there, taking advantage of better economic conditions in the new environment. The problem is, they don’t assimilate (blend in, for those who don’t like big words.) They cost their new culture in many ways. Many believe the new culture should support them. They are like uninvited guests, or squatters, who often don’t respect the culture they invade. This is no doubt the toughest of many tough issues facing American right now. It’s a tough issue in many other countries, such as Britain and France, who are living with some very bad results of their lenient immigration policies. The UK has been swarmed by people from the country of India. There are large neighborhoods in London where only people of Indian origin live. The UK is also blessed with large numbers of militant Muslims, who want to impose Sharia law. France has the misfortune to have Algeria as a colony, and large populations of Algerians have invaded France, particularly in the Paris area. Within the past couple of years we read about their protests and car burnings when France attempted to impose French laws on them, ignoring their Muslim traditions. (They disallowed women’s scarves covering their faces in the workplace, for example.)Mexicans and others sneak across our southern border in the millions. Originally, it was simply for seasonal work, and the border was essentially unguarded – they didn’t have to sneak. Many of them just went back. But, some stayed. Now, there are huge populations of Mexican-Americans. Many came over legally, or became citizens. America began to try to stop the flow.As they cross the border illegally, some carry drugs or weapons into our country. Some of them may be terrorists from other countries. Of course, some just come to work, and to escape poverty, but there are legal ways to do that.As the border was guarded more, the aliens had to sneak more, taking more risks, if they wanted to come to America. They were violating the law, and knew it, but scoffed at it. Meanwhile, Democrats came to see illegals as likely voters for Democrats. They wanted more of them, and to Hell with the ill effects on our country. In 1986, they passed laws to legalize many illegals, but failed to keep the increased border security provisions. More came. Clinton legalized more in time for his reelection. Now, Obama fails to fully enforce the laws on the books about border security. He doesn’t deport most of those discovered to be here illegally, unless they are convicted criminals, and even then doesn’t deport many. His Attorney General has sued states such as Arizona which tried to impose their own security measures. Obama supports the immigration reform bill now in Congress, but in my opinion the Senate version of it should not be passed as currently written. The border must be closed, and new laws won’t work unless the Executive Branch enforces them. Obama’s lack of enforcement has been obvious. How can we trust him with new laws?We conservatives tend to be a humane people, with soft hearts and weak brains. Democrats take advantage of that, by talking up the hardships the illegals in this country face. But, I think we should be tougher on illegal aliens. In my opinion, we should deport every illegal alien we find in this country, without the costly deportation hearings they receive now (if Obama’s INS decides to deport them.) We should give them bus or air fare and a modest amount of travel money on their way out, so they can return to their own locality. But we should also fingerprint them and take mug shots. If they are caught illegally reentering the country after having been deported, our law says that’s a felony and deserves prison time. That’s the law now.Mexican law on illegals from the United States entering their country is the very model of what our laws should be for Mexicans entering the United States. Here’s a link: Mexican illegal immigrant laws Note their National Population Registry, which lists every legal citizen, and the National Catalogue of Foreigners, which tracks every one in the country on Visa and every legal immigrant. We almost have the population registry now, in the form of Social Security numbers, and I don’t doubt we have the catalogue in some form. In Mexico, to be caught without being on one or the other list is a felony. The United States has e-Verify, an online system that allows employers to check the legal status of employees.Let’s get practical: it would be heartless and morally wrong to just start deporting everyone. I would like to see this: we declare the laws in place, but give every illegal alien a month to go and register with the INS – name, address, fingerprints, and mug shots. Then, after they register, give them two months to find a job, and if they do, issue a green card to them. If, when they register, they already have a job, give them a green card (or worker visa) and assess a token fine on their employer (who obviously broke the law by failing to verify status.) If, after the two months, they haven’t found a job, they must turn themselves in to be deported. For those who can prove they have been in the country more than three years, after they register, I would treat them more leniently. I would give them a visa good for six months, renewable if they are employed or the dependent of a worker who is employed.After the month is over, if anyone is caught here unregistered, deport them without trial and confiscate any possessions they might have. Obviously, dependents need special treatment. We’re only talking the breadwinner, but every dependent must be associated with a worker, and if the worker is deported all his or her dependents must go with them. I’ve talked mostly about illegal immigrants from Mexico, but there are many from other countries who have overstayed their visas and remain here illegally. They should be treated exactly the same way. None of this will ever work – it’s too logical. Democrats would scream their heads off. Many Republicans think the party will be out of high office forever if we don’t bend over backwards for the illegals. I disagree with them. It’s a tragedy that we never objectively understand what needs to be done, and just do it.The immigration reform bill has been debated in Congress, and the President is in favor of it. That should set off alarms. The Senate version of the bill will no doubt pass, probably the first week in July, but will be dead on arrival in the House. The House will create their own version, according to Paul Ryan, which will focus on getting the border closed first. This will take many weeks, I believe. We’ll be hearing about it for a long time.The Senate version has many holes, according to Republicans, and also has pork and other unrelated legislation. The House version will focus on things like getting e-Verify working completely, and making Congress the agency which decides whether the border is closed. Ultimately the two bills will be reconciled, and who knows what the final result will be? Whatever they come up with, it won’t be as tough or effective as my version.